Effects of remote work on the workplace and workers How quality of life and work are affected by being away from the office and what can managers and supervisors do about it

Abstract

This thesis is a research on effects of remote work on workers and the workplace and how workers react to a switch to remote work. The research was carried out in re-sponse to the COVID-19 pandemic that started in the beginning of 2020 and forced companies to switch to remote work in order to reduce the spread of the virus. Busi-ness literature on workplace management, including the works on digital or remote workplace, was used in this thesis, combined with articles related to remote work and workplace health. Qualitative interviews were conducted with people, who were affect-ed by the remote work switch. Research for this thesis showed how the management and workflow of the remote workplace is different, but still shares numerous things, how the remote work envi-ronment affects the productivity and motivation of the workers. Lastly, through the research it was discovered that having an existing remote work framework is im-portant for any company even when the remote work is not a mandatory solution im-posed by the factors outside of business The main conclusion of the research was that while having differences, remote work-place management is not that different from an office workplace management. It still requires understanding of the nature of human motivation and behavior, and with the different workflow, a change of some of the usual practices is of need.